£4m Lancaster bridge repairs bid delayed

A decision on funding for a £4m programme of work on Greyhound Bridge in Lancaster has been delayed until after the general election.

Confusion over a Lancashire County Council roadworks bulletin led some to believe that work to the bridge would be starting in May, but the council said it is still waiting for a decision on funding.

Greyhound Bridge, Lancaster.

David Hurford, bridges manager for Lancashire County Council, said: “We have submitted a bid to the Department for Transport (DfT) for funding to carry out extensive maintenance to Greyhound Bridge, but have now been informed that we will only find out whether we have been successful after the general election.

“The DfT had been planning to let councils know the result of their bids at the end of April and, in case ours was accepted, we had planned an outline schedule on this basis which would have meant the bridge closing from September 2017 to March 2018.

“Whether the work goes ahead this year will depend entirely upon whether our funding bid is successful, and we will revise our proposed programme once we know the outcome. We have known for some time that Greyhound Bridge needs a lot of work in order to avoid the need to impose weight limits in coming years.

“The work would require the bridge to be closed for an extensive period, and we have been waiting until the Bay Gateway opened which will help to alleviate disruption by providing an alternative route to the Heysham peninsula.”

The work would include repairs and replacement to parts of the bridge structure.